New research casts doubt over sustainable aviation fuels

In the UK, Edie reported that a new research published by the Royal Society warned that “there is no single simple answer to decarbonizing aviation”, other than “reducing the amount of air travel or relying on long-term offsets”. The report noted that the research warns that any solution would face challenges in terms of the availability and accessibility of sustainable feedstock and that further lifecycle analysis of fuels is required to highlight how effective solutions would actually be. On hydrogen, the report notes that it would need to be produced using low-carbon electricity, but that it would require up to three-and-a-half times the generation of wind and solar recorded in the UK in 2020. The research also notes that only some biofuels would be viable feedstock for low-carbon aviation and even then the availability of feedstock is a huge restriction to the sector’s decarbonization aspirations, the report added. The Royal Society also highlighted that meeting existing aviation demand of around 4,000 daily flights with biofuels from energy crops would require around half of the UK’s existing agricultural land and almost 70% of the UK’s total land area. “Depending upon the fuel used, changes to aircraft operations, ground handling systems and airport layouts might be required,” the report states. “In addition, aviation relies upon trained, qualified and regularly refreshed staff in key roles who are licensed to carry out their jobs. Alternative low carbon jet fuel technologies cannot be introduced effectively without updating skills, training, and professional standards.”

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